How Swedish Is the Swedish Chef?

Long before Rene Redzepi launched NOMA, giving the Nordic Food Movement worldwide culinary fame, one Scandinavian chef ruled the scene: The Swedish Chef. Sure, he was only a puppet, but he’s a puppet in a toque!

According to a great Slate article on his Swedishness, though, Swedes absolutely hate it when you ask them about said puppet. And, even worse, they say his goofy gibberish sounds a lot more like Norwegian than Swedish–those qualify as fighting words in wealthy, socialist, peace-loving democracies.